Christine Negroni riffs on aviation and travel and whatever else inspires her to put words to page.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Malaysia Flight 17 May Be Victim of Geopolitical Turbulence

The apparent shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 in the Ukraine today is a shocker for many reasons, not the least of which is that this is a double dose of tragedy for an airline already off-balance over the mysterious disappearance of another jumbo jet in March of this year. It is also deeply troubling to think of air travelers as casualties of geopolitical turbulence. But perhaps it should not be so shocking. Over the past decades, nearly two dozen passenger airliners
have been hit by missiles. Among them

Iran Air Flight 655 in 1988 hit and destroyed by the U.S. Navy

Korean Airlines Flight 007 downed by the Soviet military in 1983

Siberian Airlines Flight 1812 in 2001 during an Ukrainian
military exercise

El Al Flight 402 in 1955 by Bulgaria military

Libyan Airlines Flight 114 by Israeli military in 1973

Then there was the unsuccessful double missile launching on
an Israeli Arkia Airlines Boeing 757 departing from Mombasa in 2002, which
prompted a good bit of discussion at the time about airline anti-missile
protection devices. I thought the idea had fizzled but today discovered an
Israeli company that claims to be in the testing phase with a workable device.

On its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, Malaysia Flight 17 was flying through the Ukraine on a route considered to be dangerous and closed to air traffic up to an altitude of thirty-two thousand feet, according to Eurocontrol. But MH 17 was headed east at thirty three thousand feet, in airspace not subject to restrictions according to the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

In April, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration prohibited American carriers from flying over a section of the Ukraine where the
violent struggle for Crimea is ongoing, but in that case, the restriction had
more to do safety than security. Both Russians and Ukrainians were claiming the right to handle air traffic
control in international airspace over
the Black Sea within the Simferopol flight information region. (Read more about it here.)

International airline pilots whose jobs require them to fly
over global hot spots are briefed on their options for alternate airports should unrest cause them to divert from their destination. But
for the most part, concern about operating across our warring world is not something I often hear expressed when I talk to airline crews. Airplanes have long been a focus of interest for
criminals and terrorists and more than a few times, airline crews have been
targeted, too.

TWA Capt. John Testrake in 1985

One of the most chilling news photos I’ve ever seen shows Capt. John Testrake a gun to his head, after his TWA airliner was hijacked in 1985 and held for two weeks. Passengers were beaten and some were killed while the crew was forced to fly repeatedly between Beirut and Algeria.

Then there is the kidnapping of Turkish pilots Murat Akpinar and Murat Agca, from their crew van
after arrival in Beirut on August 9 of last year. The men were held for months before being released. I worried then that this could trigger a domino effect.

Turkish Capt. Murat Akpinar

In some destinations, flight crews arrive
and are transported under heavy security, sequestered in their hotels like
hostages. How long before there is an impact on their willingness to work
certain routes, I wonder.

It’s a world full of conflict out there; Israel and
Palestine, Russia and the Ukraine, China and Japan, Iraq and Syria. Malaysia
Flight 17’s 295 passengers and crew are not the first - just the
latest victims and they are proof that commercial aviation does not fly above the fray.